ROUNDTABLE REVIEW
approach. Essentially, I think there are lots of skills that employers tell us they would like our graduates to have and there can be, at some institutions, a tendency to build that into their curriculum. “We have introduced at all levels a strengths-based model approach to skills. We start by students identifying for themselves their own strengths through a series of questionnaires. We take a very holistic approach around embedding that into the curriculum and working with them in innovative ways, things that have been observed by faculty and that you might not necessarily be able to assess. We also use a VR tool to place MBA students in an immersive space and to simulate some of the experiences they might have in the real world, thereby testing their skills.” Munish Thakur: “I think a lot of soft skills probably can be measured, but we should refrain from doing so. There should be no need to measure soft skills because, as I mentioned earlier, soft skill development is very non-linear and we face considerable competition in the business school sector. “We are always saying [things like] “We are better than X” and have this need to compete and justify everything – that’s what kills the development of soft skills. The emphasis here should not be on measurement, but on development. It should be more a self-assessment kind of situation, given that a person’s performance might be very average for five years and then, all of a sudden, a certain transformation happens and they improve their soft skills. These skills are ‘touchy-feely’ in nature, so it’s difficult to pinpoint them, meaning we should try to overcome the urge to measure them.” What innovative teaching methods – eg simulations, role-playing, case studies, group projects, experiential learning, coaching, mentoring – have proven most effective in developing specific soft skills? Tom Lindholm: “I don’t believe there’s a single ‘one-size-fits‑all’ method for developing soft skills. Firstly, defining what we include in soft skills is crucial and would warrant its own discussion. Currently, there’s significant focus on fostering creativity. However, I can’t definitively say that one method consistently outperforms others. “The most effective approach is a combination of methods, integrated into the MBA programme, rather than isolated activities. The best methods depend on the specific situation and context, making it difficult to give a simple, clear answer.” Tessa Melkonian: “What I believe is an interesting avenue to explore is experiential learning for leadership because it combines knowledge and practical application within a single encapsulated design; this helps students to reflect in the present moment on their behaviour as leaders. “I’ve been working for a long time with the army, the French special forces. Their members are very well aware that leadership is something that must be learned. They attend our academy and
they receive regular feedback on the way they work to improve their leadership over time. “I think that leadership is so challenging right now, it really requires that we move in the direction of offering participants feedback on the collective challenges [that we currently face]. It’s what must be done if we want to prepare our cohorts for the volatility, uncertainty and risk that the new status quo entails.” Federica Pazzaglia: “In terms of soft skills used in an intercultural scenario, we place a particular emphasis on student mobility. Our students get up to three substantive mobility experiences a year, all in different contexts and modalities. Some of them involve getting acquainted with the different ways that business is done, while others focus on doing business in different geographical regions. Then there are applied projects, working with organisations on a one-to-one assignment in a foreign location. “Having that idea of novelty is really one of the key elements that ties all these experiences together – that and getting students talking to people, whether that’s communicating within a group, or with a client, or with our lecturers, or even with alumni through our mentoring scheme.” Hannah Holmes: “Our method revolves around personalisation. The strengths-based approach that I talked about before is a way
Ambition • ISSUE 2 • 2025 21
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